Faith and Wisdom James 1 - One of most meaningful in Bible

James 1:6-7 But when you ask God, you must believe. Do not doubt God. Anyone who doubts is like a wave in the sea. The wind blows the wave up and down. He who doubts is thinking two different things at the same time. He cannot decide about anything he does. A person like that should not think that he will receive anything from the Lord.
James1:13-15 When someone is being tempted, he should not say, "God is tempting me." Evil cannot tempt God, and God himself does not tempt anyone. It is the evil that a person wants that tempts him. His own evil desire leads him away and holds him. This desire causes sin. Then the sin grows and brings death.

Every Man's Battle

I just picked the book up yesterday. I have really been struggling with my sexual impulses. The first chapter and intro convicted me of how the life and thoughts that I have are so worldly and so indescent. Loving Christ should separate me from these things. My flesh has been winning and God's best cannot be present when that happens. I look at what I have been doing and I think "Do you really have faith, do you really believe?" In the book, the author writes "It's wrong, I admitted, but it's such a small thing. It was a far cry from Playboy, I told myself". How many times have I justified it. It is wrong and I need to cut it out totally.

"Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions......
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways
and sinners will turn back to you." Psalm 51:1, 12-13

"But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity" Ephesians 5:3

My Utmost for His Highest

Philippians 1:20 - "For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ whether I live or die. 21 For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better....... 24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live."

We can be completely confident in God's will for us and boast in God and his plan. Our purpose and our goal here is to be our Utmost for HIS Highest - our best for Him not matter what we view to be the cost in other realms of our lives. I must stop pondering what God tells me and try to justify everything through the view of my life but through the view of God's life for me. Just trust and He will lead the way - be confident in Him.

"When we think seriously about what it wil cost others if we obey the call of Jesus, we tell God He doesn't know what our obedience will mean. Keep to the point - He does know. Shut out every other thought and keep yourself before God in this one thing only - my utmost for His highest. I am determined to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone. ..... Pual was determined tha nothing would stop him from doing exactly what God wanted.

Wait on the Lord

Lamentations 3:24-26 I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

I must wait patiently for His Word, His guidance, His fulfillment. I must not turn to other things to fill me when my portion is in the Lord. He is our salvation, He is our fulfillment, He is our Answer. Pray, ask, knock, seek and wait.

Be Salt and Light

Ephesians 2:10 For war are God's Workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Philippians 2:13-16 It is God who works in you to will and to act accroding to his good puspose. Do everything without complaining or arguing , so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life - in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.

Matthew 5:13 You are the Salt of the earth. But if the salt loses it saltiness how can it be made salty again? 14 You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 16 Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

We are to shine, to be different, to stand out. The only way we can do that is by using and practicing God's wisdom, obey his word and listen to Him and for Him in every aspect of our lives. We are to be different because of the effects God has on our lives but we must allow him to affect us.

Acquire Wisdom

Proverbs 4:5-7 Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her and she will guard you; Love her, and she will watch over you. The beginning of wisdom is: Acquire wisdom; and with all your acquiring, get understanding.

We all should learn more and acquire more understanding but first gain wisdom which begins with the fear of God. We must look at everything through the lens of God and push forward to gain understanding for what he has created. We must push forward in science and in all knowledge because he has commissioned us to do so. In our quest, he will bless us and provide better ways to live our lives. He give us these gifts to gain understanding of who he is. He is infinite in His power and His knowledge. We must not stay in tradition but explore and discover so we can be in awe of His power.

Watch over your heart with diligence

Proverbs 4:23-27 Watch over your heart with all diligence. From from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you a decitful mouth, and put devious lips away far from you. Let your eyes look straight ahead, and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.Watch over the path of your feet, and all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right nor to the left; Turn your foot from evil.

I need to stay focused on Christ and stay focused on the path God has set for me. Be confident in what His plans are. Veering from them or looking for different ways only puts me back. He wants us to be the best for his plan and having a heart that is after him totally is the only way. STAY FOCUSED